Plight
by th3j3st3rLIV3S
Summary: Azuma has a problem, but he doesn't want to tell what it is. Tsukino, bothered by his aloofness, has a universal solution. How can one act of kindness result in 'True Love' being realized, and several headaches? Dense has new meaning...
1. A Simple Plight

Plight

Chapter I

Beginning Of a Plight

-

Tsukino shifted uncomfortably on her feet. The problem at hand was very unsettling.

"He has been like that for how long, _exactly_?" She looked skeptical. What the manager was saying practically bordered on impossibility.

"A week or so…" Running his hand through his afro, Ken Matsushiro gave the younger girl a look of disbelief. "You, of all people, didn't notice?"

She took a step back, caught completely off guard. "Well…" She averted her eyes from his critical gaze. "I've been busy, as of late. Due to the school's finals and all…" That was no excuse and she knew it. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

He replied, "Why should I? Shouldn't you be the one who noticed it first, since you are the one who has a cr…"

"Manager!" Tsukino's face was completely flushed. Why she had stopped him (in the nick of time, no less), she had no idea. Her feelings for a certain bread artisan were by no means a 'deep, dark secret.' In fact, everyone seemed to be aware of this fact; everyone except the one who was the object of her feelings in the first place.

"Oh, sorry." He motioned his hands in an apology. Despite the fact that he himself listed adamant rules for the South Pantasia Branch, there is only one true rule that everybody abides by. It is 'Don't tell Azuma about Tsukino's feelings.'

"It's alright," she said. Absentmindedly, she began to caress the ring that Azuma gave her. She knew it didn't mean anything more than a token of goodwill, but, hey, everyone has their dreams.

They both sighed at the exact same moment.

"Well," Tsukino said when the silence overwhelmed her, "I better see what's wrong."

"You do that."

Slinging her book bag over her shoulder, she stalked off to Azuma's apartment.

"Don't be nervous!" The manager yelled to get her attention. "He's probably baking, so I'm pretty sure he doesn't want your 'bun in the oven'!" By some chance, Tsukino did have a frozen sweet bun in her book-bag; by the tone of the manager's voice, however, he was by no means referring to the cold treat.

The double entendre left Tsukino swooning in the middle of the street.

-

It was a simple problem- one that he so easily overlooked.

How he had **_missed_** it was aggravating.

Sighing in exasperation, he began slinging his pink hair band around his index finger.

The problem was common among many businesses. He couldn't possibly grieve over something so cliché.

Yet, he was.

"In order for a business to succeed, three absolute things must be present." Azuma mumbled under his breath. "Good _service_." How many restaurant businesses faltered due to this was beyond him. Quality service was one thing many business owners stressed. "Excellent _merchandise_." A business is nothing without their products. Good service only isn't enough to bring in the bacon, or so he had been told.

Azuma hung his head as he muttered the last thing.

"Reasonable _prices_."

_Ja-pan- _The epitome of excellent breads- the bread that surpasses even the world's best baker's creation- _the physical embodiment of his dream… _

…**_costs too much._**

"Damn…" he mumbled.

Only a handful of people can afford this product- it being so rich in expensive ingredients.

He ran the scenario in his mind again. Lower the current cost of _Ja-pan _and profit wouldn't be made. Substitute certain ingredients would degrade the absolute taste. Only making it for people who can afford it would cheapen his current dream of having everyone in the world trying it. _A Catch-22 situation, so to speak._

All options available to him would degrade his dream no matter what. He was damned one way, and equally damned another.

Out of irritation, Azuma tossed his headband at the wall and gripped his head in frustration.

That was the less of his problems at the moment. The dominant trouble on his mind was the fact that he had fallen into a metaphorical 'funk.' Inspiration for a new type of 'Ja-pan' would seldom come, and when it does, the result was far from his expectations.

'Perhaps…' he thought, 'I am trying to hard.' A knock on the door caught his attention. "Come in!" he shouted.

A female voice filled the room. "Excuse me…" It was Tsukino. Turning his head around, Azuma stared at blushing girl. She was shifting uncomfortably on her feet.

"What?" he asked point-blank. He grimaced a moment later, realizing how cold and unkindly his tone was.

Startled, Tsukino bowed and muttered an apology. "I'm sorry! Did I interrupt you?" She looked up, her cheeks burning. "Should I come back later?"

"It's alright…" Azuma muttered an apology of his own.

"What's wrong?" she asked, making her way toward his desk.

"Nothing," he lied and quite pathetically. Being the honest guy he was, he couldn't lie to save his life. Only a complete moron can be fooled. And quite frankly, Tsukino was not a moron. If anything, she was the most sagacious girl Azuma ever meet.

"There's no point in lying." Her voice was very serene, Azuma noticed- almost like a soothing melody. "Can you tell me what's wrong?" she asked again. "Everyone is concerned…" Well, when she said everybody, she was actually referring to herself, the manager, and Kawachi. 'Everyone' else was somewhat indifferent.

"I don't want to tell…" Azuma mumbled, unable to meet her gaze. His plight was idiotic, and deserves no actual attention. He was quite adamant in emphasizing this.

"Please…" she begged. Tsukino received no reply.

Tsukino, having enough of this odd aloof manner of his, grabbed his hand and began dragging him to the door.

Azuma was caught off guard, to say the least. "Where are we going?" he gasped, unaware of the irony that he, a world renowned bread artisan, is practically being manhandled by a girl.

"Out!" she said, her face not facing his; leaving Azuma completely unaware of her mortified face. "On a date," Tsukino whispered to herself.

-


	2. Glocks and Bread

Plight

Chapter II

Glocks and Bread

-

The warehouse drummed with intense music; from all directions, enemies of all kinds cloaked in black advanced with assault weapons loaded with 5.56 mm. They were by no means excellent in combat, judging from how they were holding their weapons and how horribly they were positioned behind the metal crates.

He moved quickly. Emptying a magazine of .9mm, he incapacitated nine advancing men through the means of headshots. Not good enough…

A monotonous voice filled the air…

"Reload….Reload…Reload…" The gun would not reload. Panicking, the teenager brought out a Glock17 from his belt and shot repeatedly at the proceeding images. Three shots struck a glass pane, immediately bringing smoke out of the machine.

The arcade fell silent; all of the patrons were watching the strange teenager actually shooting at a very popular simulation game.

Coming to his senses, the said teenager hoisted his gun into his belt among many other various weapons, which included a Steyr TMP, a semi-auto assault rifle, more than twenty anti-personal tank grenades, and several flashbangs. If it weren't all hidden under his shirt, some people would've naturally assumed that he was going off to war.

"I apologize…" he said to his blue-haired friend. The latter was a girl, who held a fan tantamount to the size of her bosom. She was clutching it angrily.

"I got too into the moment." His eyes were closed; that could've explained why he didn't notice the arc swing.

"Don't do that!" she screamed. Her fan moved in a style similar to how a samurai would swing his katana.

THWAAPP!

The teenager tumbled from where he was standing and met head-first onto a pane of glass.

Azuma looked inside with a huge grin.

'They are funny!' he thought. If only they had been an anime…

"Hey, Tsukino!" He ran toward the blushing girl, completely oblivious to the fact that she was blushing. She was sitting on a bench next to a fountain. Her face was the personification of mortification. Had a scientist been there, he/she would've gasped in disbelief at the intense color of red on her face.

She looked at the running bread artisan.

"Oiiiiii!" Azuma shouted. Distracted by what just occurred, he didn't pay attention to the street. When his foot tripped over a rather large rock, he immediately began to stumble and promptly fell down. His head somehow found its way on Tsukino's lap, and one hand on her _bosom_.

Tsukino swooned, _her_ head falling backwards right into the fountain.

-

"Are you sick?" Azuma was very skeptical that she wasn't. She had every symptom of being sick- burning fevers (blushing), fainting (swooning), and inability to speak coherently (embarrassed blathering/stuttering).

"No," she said, sounding a bit more adamant. She answered this question so many times already, and it was getting annoying!

Azuma leaned over and placed his palm on her forehead. She blushed, restraining the urge to swoon.

"Your temperature is really high," he mumbled. Leaning even closer, he pressed his ear against her heart. Standard Procedure, he thought. His mother did it for him all the time to check if he had an irregular heart beat that could be caused by a lung disease. Somehow, he truthfully forgot what particular body part covered a woman's heart. Tsukino didn't.

"Your heart is beating very fast too!" Azuma became worried. "Maybe I should take you home… Better yet, why don't I take you back to my apartment?" Hospitality was one thing his sister stressed the most during his childhood. An idea popped into his head, after rethinking what he just said. "There's a bun in the oven…." Azuma briefly described a new Ja-Pan idea he had; albeit, Tsukino only heard 'bun in the oven' before her mind paused at a particular idea.

For the past couple of minutes, she found it very hard not to swoon.

-

"So… where're we going?" Azuma asked, walking backwards with both of his hands folded behind his head.

"Perhaps… a café…" Tsukino was morbidly tired. It took several long minutes to convince the bread artisan that she wasn't sick. Coincidently, it took twice as long for him to wake her up. A quick sip of coffee would defiantly keep her awake throughout the day. So much to do… so little time.

"Okay!" Azuma stopped walking, and offered her his hand. "There's a popular one in the north side of town." Perhaps it didn't occur to Azuma as to why it was popular. "Café de Amore…" European language was not his forte by any means, so it was impossible for him to notice that 'Amore' meant love. Even less, the name of said place is literally what the place represents, 'A café of love.' Tsukino however, having been better versed in foreign languages and current dating hot spot, did.

She was about to tumble backwards; but Azuma, again oblivious to what was about to happen, grabbed her hand and began dragging her to the café.

Tsukino suddenly felt weightless. Azuma was holding her hand. He was taking her to Café de Amore. Things couldn't get any better!

"I heard they have excellent bread over there!"

Tsukino smiled. Azuma will be Azuma, she thought.

Looking at the rich blue sky, absent of clouds and rich in winged and beautiful creatures, she truly believed that nothing can go wrong.


	3. The Dense and The Aloof

Plight

Chapter III

The Dense & The Aloof

-

Café de Amore is always full of lovelorn patrons- regardless of holidays, special occasions, and weather, and in this case, particularly the weather.

"Sorry Tsukino…" Azuma opened the door for her. He looked rather embarrassed. "I should've brought an umbrella." He was at a lost. The day started out so hot! Who could've honestly guessed that it would've rain on this particular day?

Tsukino, now drenched from head to toe, walked through the door with a face similar to that of a smitten woman. Azuma just opened the door for her!

"It's alright," she said. Looking around, she began to blush. 'Café de Amore' truly lived up to its name. The whole room was painted and furnished with hot pink and baby blue colored items. Pictures depicting kissing and carnal desires hung on all four walls. Even the patrons were showing their affection openly. She looked with longing at Azuma, expecting to see him blushing at the foray of open affection.

"Oiii! Old lady!" Azuma waved his hand to get the attention of the waitress. Tsukino cringed at the Azuma's inquiry. His careless use of the 'O' word would bring him a world of pain in the future. "Is there an open table?" Looking around, he couldn't find a table that was available.

Tsukino promptly apologized for Azuma's rudeness. The waitress chuckled and explained that his question wasn't the very least offensive. Moreover, she explained that she knew that Azuma meant well.

"There's one over there." She smiled at the young man. He seemed very eager to get a table; evaluating the pretty girl next to him, she didn't find anything wrong with that. "It's right next to flower patch."

"Let's go Tsukino!" He grabbed her hand, unintentionally eliciting a crimson blush on Tsukino's face, and led her to a fanciful pink colored table. He took a seat, she took hers.

"I see you don't have any manners." The old woman was by their table now, holding a notebook. "It's proper etiquette to seat the lady, before taking your own seat." Looking at his confused face, she shook her head. Boys these days! As oblivious as nut in a nutshell.

"You're first date?" she asked Tsukino. The latter nodded her head embarrassingly. Of course it was.

"We're not on a date," Azuma pointed out; he clearly didn't notice Tsukino's answer in the affirmative. His face was twisted in confusion. Why would the waitress assume such a thing? "We're just friends."

"He's right…" Tsukino said sadly, debunking her previous answer. "We're… just friends." The waitress gazed at the young girl's crimson face, before coming to a conclusion. She chuckled.

"Let me guess… _he's_ dense… and _you_ brought him here because of _that_ silly rumor." Tsukino shook her head again, resisting the urge to say 'He's just dense.'

"What silly rumor?" Azuma asked. He felt a bit insulted when she said he was dense; but dense of what?

"There's an asinine rumor buzzing around town that this particular place is magical." Teenagers are odd these days, she thought. "According to what I heard, if a girl or a boy confessed their love for someone here, and the other person accepts their feelings, they would be together forever." She paused for a second and contemplated if that can truly happen. "I find that pretty hard to believe, considering this place has only been open for a few months."

"Wait… What does that have to with us?" Azuma was at a lost at what the waitress was saying.

The entire restaurant went quiet. Everyone was staring at the young bread artisan.

"…." Certainly, this boy couldn't be serious! She immediately changed the subject. "What would you like to order?" Taking out a pen, she licked the tip. Setting the tip on the notebook, she eagerly waited for the young and odd couple to order from her uniquely written menu.

"B-but..!" he interjected. "What were you implying earlier!?" When she didn't answer, Azuma sadly dropped the entire thing. He looked at the special of the day embroiled on the menu. "Hey Tsukino," Azuma scratched his head. "How does 'Eternal Love' sound to you?"

-

Kai Suwabara was a man among men; he was strong enough to strike down a tree in one swift blow, and intelligent enough to pinpoint any adversary's weak point, physical and mental. Always wielding his razor sharp katana with a stern adamant face, he was an imposing force of nature.

Consequently, that fact didn't sit well with Monica Adenauer. She too was a force of nature- only a hair stronger and never deniable. She had to be, since she was always sitting on his shoulders with her legs around his head, much to his 'displeasure.'

"Kai-Chan!" Kai's pet name drew curious looks from every person within ear shot. "You promised to take me out on a date!" Bending over his head, she gave him the puppy dog look. It had no effect whatsoever.

"I made no such commitment," was his retort.

"Yes you did!" Her voice bordered on pure yearning. To emphasize her point, she began to shake his head like a rag doll.

"No, I did not." His voice was adamant to the fault. Really, it was to the fault.

"You're mean!" Her voice rung throughout the entire block and again it brought curious looks. "You promised me that you'll take me out on a date! Remember! After I gave myself to…"

"Where do you want to go?" His mortified voice brought a smile on Monica's face. The devil is devious, yes- but he has nothing on Monica Adenauer.

"Hmmm…. Café de Amore!" Her voice was as sweet as cake.

-

END


	4. The Rose Part I

Plight   
Chapter 4

The Rose Part 1

-

The aroma emitting from the indoor flower patch was heavenly.

Noticing it among many artificial smells, courtesy of other patrons, Tsukino leaned closer to the flowers and sniffed the fragrance. Her face visibly relaxed, leaving her looking serene and innocent and pretty and…. Wait… what?

Azuma shook his head. His wandering mind almost leaded him to a particular taboo type of thoughts.

"Wow… what is this?" Tsukino asked, pointing to a white. She looked at the counter. The waitress wasn't there.

The answer to her question came from an unexpected source.

"It's a violet," Azuma said. "Though, the proper name for it is 'Viola.'" He ran his hand through his hair and, for the first time today, noticed that he wasn't wearing his headband. Somehow, for some peculiar reason, his head felt naked. "Violets are part of the Violaceae family. Like many other flowers, certain types of violets have a symbolic meaning. Blue violets represent faithfulness. That white one over there represents modesty." He looked at Tsukino, and soon after, cocked his head.

Had Tsukino been a manga character, her eyes would have been bug-eyed, sweat drops of enormous size would be cascading down her head, and her lips would have been quivering at an unbelievable rate, after listening to Azuma's lecture.

"How… how…" She was stammering.

"I came from a farming area," Azuma answered, in anticipation to her question. "There were a lot of flower fields over there. Some girls I've known in the past were in love with the flowers grown there and they really wanted to learn everything about flowers. I overheard them talking several times during class."

"Oh…." Tsukino resisted the urge to ask him if there was any other girl that she would like to know about. But, considering Azuma's usual train of thought, she knew it couldn't be worth it. "How about this one?" she asked, pointing a purple flower.

"That's a heliotropium arborescens, or simply a Garden Heliotrope; and, as you can tell by its name, its part of the Heliotropium family. They originated from Peru; and this type of flower has become a popular garden plant due to its vanilla-like fragrance. I think it represents devotion." Tsukino flinched. Devotion… she is devoted to a particular some; but how long can the devotion last if he never notices!

"Umm…" She blushed; looking at a couple at a nearby table. They're certainly devoted to each other! "What's this?" She reached out into a cluster of flowers and caressed a pink and pointed petal flower.

"That flower is a dahlia and… umm…. sorry Tsukino; I forgot its family name." Quite frankly, she didn't care.

"It's okay."

"Well, dahlias originally came from Mexico; and this type of flower is also the city flower of Seattle. It represents elegance and dignity." Azuma thought about this. "It's like you."

Going from pink to crimson, he blush soon consumed her face. "Thank you." She looked away, extremely abashed. As her head turned, she caught sight of specific blossom. "I… I think I know this one." Tsukino pointed to it. "It's a tickseed."

Azuma scratched his head. "Well, you're right; it's a tickseed, but its actual name is coreopsis. It symbolizes 'always cheerful.'"

"Like you," Tsukino said.

Azuma was caught off guard. 'Always cheerful?' Sure, he might be optimistic, but always cheerful? "No…" he pointed out. Recollection of his problem came up in his mind. "I guess you can say I'm '**always cheerful,**' but rarely did you ever see me sad!"

The whole restaurant became silent.

"That's not true!" Tsukino was aghast to hear what he was saying. "I… I… I know that you think I'm… not… that I don't…" Her voice was barely audible.

"What?" Azuma's spoke in a very confused tone. He didn't mean to retort in an angry manner; but, what was the girl trying to say because of it.

"I… Maybe you don't notice it… but I… I am always watching you when you are near me. I… I can tell when you're sad… and when you're truly happy. It's just that… most of the time… it's just a front… or." She stood up suddenly, and bowed with tears coming down her cheek. "I'm sorry!" Her sudden movements brought glances from everyone in the restaurant.

Her eyes were closed; but that didn't prevent her from hearing a chair sliding against the floor.

"Tsukino…" She looked up and saw Azuma holding a flower. She was familiar with this type of flower. It was a snowdrop, _consolation. _"Sorry… I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"…" Tsukino said nothing. Wiping her tears, she reached over, without looking, and plucked up a flower. She held it in front of her and turned away. In her mind she pictured a yellow and slightly red rose in her hand; yellow and red, _friendship_… and _falling in love_.

"Uhh…" was his response. The snowdrop fell from his hand.

Tsukino, feeling a tad confused at Azuma's reply, looked up and found out why. "Uhh…" She too dropped the flower on top of the table. It was a rose alright, but by no means was it yellow or red. It was orange; and it is often used to symbolize passion. But… as of late… it had a different meaning. _Carnal Desires. _

-

END


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